Bring Down The Hoe
by Rosaroma
Summary: Aria is with Jake at the barn dance until A interferes. Ezra is lurking but so is redcoat. This was a one shot swimming in my head after Bring The Hoe Down. It's kind of grown.


They had danced for the better part of an hour, their feet exhausted from two-stepping for so long. Jake sat down and Aria collapsed next to him, leaning into his shoulder to rest. Her heart rate hadn't slowed down from the energetic fun.

'You can really dance,' he said, letting the impressed tone linger for her to marvel at. His honesty seemed to catch her unaware and the ease with which they talked hadn't failed to make her smile.

'I'm not the only one,' she said shoving him lightly. As though she were the better dancer of the two. 'It's been great tonight.' Having her friends all around her, being part of the same normal world, it had been wonderful.

'Want a drink?' he asked spotting Ezra over her shoulder. He remembered everything she'd said about that particular relationship. Jake wanted to set out the boundaries for the 'Teacher' for Aria's sake. He knew it had messed with her, the strange way she'd had to be when she'd dated him. The way people treated her after, he wanted her to be able to shake off all memory and implication.

'Yeah, lemonade,' Aria said lighting up at the thought of something refreshing, not noting anyone else's presence.

Ezra had been glancing in her direction all evening, but especially now that her boyfriend had disappeared from her side. He wanted to approach her about Malcolm. To let her know it had been a mistake, that Malcolm wasn't his son. He was as available as when he had been with her and she didn't have to share him now. Suddenly Jake was in his line of sight and up in his face.

'Jake, what can I do for you?' Ezra said vaguely still eyeing Aria, he wasn't all that interested in what the kid had to say.

'Space. I'm assuming it wasn't mandatory to chaperone tonight,' Jake said insightfully. Ezra knew it was plain on his face that he'd come here to see her, it riled him that Jake thought he had any right to stand in the way of what they had.

'I don't know what,' Ezra was interrupted by a girl appearing behind Jake. He knew they couldn't carry this conversation on with other ears around.

Finishing the conversation right where he wanted it, Jake ordered two lemonades and headed back to Aria. Satisfied that he'd laid some of the ground work.

The step where they had been sitting was empty. It seemed off. No matter how comfortable the shoes were that he'd bought her, she was much more exhausted then he. He wouldn't have figured she'd get up to go anywhere. Looking around he put the drinks down and spotted Spencer.

'Have you seen Aria?' he only realised how panicked she looked once she turned to him.

'Where was she?' Spencer didn't want the answer to be anywhere but right here.

'We were sitting over by the door,' he said, 'Why? Spencer what's wrong?' his mind was reeling quickly through the things he knew about them. That girl Jenna flashed up in his mind, the attempt to drown her.

Aria was scared of someone, he'd known that since day one. Spencer had the same look in her eyes. 'Where is she?' he asked harder trying to get Spencer to focus.

'I don't know.' Spencer shook her head helplessly. 'Lets look outside.'

They broke out into the cold night air and started to search for her.

Spotting someone in a red coat Spencer pointed in that direction, 'Over there.'

Emily came out at the same time spinning around. 'I just saw,' she clamped her mouth shut as she spotted Jake.

'We know!' Spencer said running to the truck that red coat had just got into. As red coat turned the engine over Spencer climbed up onto the back and spotted a second red coat in the hay. Pulling at the mass she was surprised.

'Aria?' Spencer said peering at the face under the hood. She was unconscious. The truck started to move, 'Jake!' Spencer shouted clutching to the side of the truck.

Grabbing Aria she tried to lift her and was getting an angle when the truck turned a corner slamming her against the side.

Jake and Emily ran as fast as they could, they needed to get Spencer down.

'Screw it,' Spencer said grabbing Aria and throwing them over the back of the truck. Landing on her shoulder she grunted as she considered other ways she might have more safely made it the ground. She held her tiny friend in her arms.

'Spencer!' Emily caught up and pulled red coat out of her arms to reveal Aria's face.

'Aria?' Jake pulled the hood away from Aria's face. There was blood dripping onto the ground, he wasn't sure if it was from the fall. Scrambling for his phone in the pocket he called for an ambulance. Emily texted Toby that Spencer had been hurt.

* * *

Arriving at the hospital Toby skidded along the corridor trying to find the room number Emily had texted him. Coming up to it he slammed the door open making everyone jump in their respective seats. His breathing slowed down to see her awake and looking at him in bewilderment.

'You came?' she said surprised he'd shown up. The other occupants of the room slowly filtered out so they could talk.

In a room further down the hall Jake was holding Aria's hand and trying to keep her awake.

'You can't fall asleep, because the doctor says you have a concussion,' he said trying to keep smiling for her.

'Your very pretty,' she said dangling her hand next to his face and pushing his hair experimentally back and forth. He chuckled. She had woken up as the paramedics loaded her into the ambulance. Clutching for anyone she knew and trying to ask if everyone else was alright.

'I really thought A had got me that time,' she said sighing. Jake searched her face for more of an explanation.

'Who's A?' he said coming down to her level slumped on the pillows.

'I don't know,' she said dissatisfied. He held her hand to drive away the despair that seemed to linger in the back of her eyes. He knew it was the person she was scared of, the one who was probably behind a lot of the trouble that followed her around.

'Okay,' he said as Emily knocked lightly on the door. 'Hey, if you want a break, I can keep her company.'

Nodding Jake got up and let her hand slip back onto the blankets. He needed to talk to a certain somebody.

* * *

Toby sat down heavily beside Spencer and tried to control all the emotions that were rip curling through him. 'Of course I came Spencer. I know I let A distract me with the car as bate and that she fed me stuff that would pull us apart.' He felt ridiculously stupid. A was using every bit of his grief against him, he clenched his fists tightly.

'You asked me to keep it a secret,' she held his larger hand in hers. 'I just can't keep things from them and I don't know where that leaves us.' How protective she was of her friends had only grown over the last year. More every day. They risked everything for each other.

Toby's chest turned uncomfortably. 'Whether she killed herself or A did it. She's gone.' He couldn't hold himself up under the weight of everything.

Spencer saw the strain and tried to pry his head up to look at her. 'Trust me and my friends. I know you miss her Toby, but it's not worth your life.' She didn't understand the grief he felt, she still had both her parents in one form or another. She imagined that the mother Toby had was much more a mother than her own had been. Sighing she leant back.

Toby's eyes came up to meet hers taking in the bandaged arm she held against her other side.

'What did A do to you?' he said the anger passing clearly over his face at the treatment she'd suffered.

'It wasn't me A was after this time. She almost had Aria, but I managed to get her back.' Spencer said trying to downplay it as something fairly simple.

'Out of a moving truck,' Jake said from the slightly open door.

'A moving truck?!' he glared back at Spencer who had the sense to look a little sheepish. _It wasn't moving that fast,_ she thought.

Toby stood abruptly, confused by Jakes knowledge of the situation. 'Wait, what are you doing here?'

'Aria's a few doors down, I wanted to talk to you actually.'

* * *

**Aria is usually getting kidnapped so this felt quite canon. Reviews?**


End file.
